# How far "inland" can I get a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 28, 2009, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-inland-can-i-get-a-nimitz-class-aircraft-carrier/501236 "2009-06-28T02:41:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2009, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-inland-can-i-get-a-nimitz-class-aircraft-carrier/501236/21 "2009-06-28T13:20:14Z")
I imagine the beach sand would stop it really quick but I have no idea how to calculate that. šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2009, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-inland-can-i-get-a-nimitz-class-aircraft-carrier/501236/22 "2009-06-28T16:30:05Z")
> [@AdmiralCrunch](#): > > Well, it is an aircraft carrier. Bridges are kinda susceptible to bombing. I think this is probably one of the most hilarious username/post content matches since we began noting them! šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![Shamozzle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shamozzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shamozzle)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2009, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-inland-can-i-get-a-nimitz-class-aircraft-carrier/501236/23 "2009-06-28T17:04:33Z")
What about the Yangtze? Could the carrier make it to the Three Gorges Dam? ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2009, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-inland-can-i-get-a-nimitz-class-aircraft-carrier/501236/24 "2009-06-28T17:15:07Z")
> [@Pork\_Rind](#): > > Nope. Your link says the channel is only 40 feet deep. Also, there are two bridges that wouldnā€™t pass a carrier. Hm, depth would be problem, but bridges can be bombed out of existence to allow passage šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2009, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-inland-can-i-get-a-nimitz-class-aircraft-carrier/501236/25 "2009-06-28T17:16:22Z")
hm mrAru claims they took the USS America[Regan class] and the Nimitz both to Great Lakes near Chicago ā€¦ anybody able to confirm that? I wouldnt think that the St Lawrence or the canal would allow passage ā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2009, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-inland-can-i-get-a-nimitz-class-aircraft-carrier/501236/26 "2009-06-28T17:26:18Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > hm mrAru claims they took the USS America[Regan class] and the Nimitz both to Great Lakes near Chicago ā€¦ anybody able to confirm that? > > I wouldnt think that the St Lawrence or the canal would allow passage ā€¦ Unless thereā€™s some super-secret technology to allow the ship to leap up Niagara Falls like Franklinā€™s proverbial whale, I donā€™t see any way around the Welland locks, which limit ship length to 740 feet. ---
**Author:** ![Bartman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@Bartman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bartman)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2009, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-inland-can-i-get-a-nimitz-class-aircraft-carrier/501236/27 "2009-06-28T18:02:50Z")
> [@Dahu](#): > > The cruise ship [Artemis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemis_(ship)) can make it as far as Manaus. Not quite as big as the Nimitz though. I canā€™f find references to the river channel but the port itself is right on the edge for a Nimitz: Harbor Type: River Natural Harbor Size: Small Shelter Afforded: Excellent Entrance Restriction (Ice): No Entrance Restriction (Other): Yes Entrance Restriction (Swell): No Entrance Restriction (Tide): Yes Good Holding Ground: Yes Overhead Limits: Unknown Channel Depth: 26ft - 30ft/7.1m - 9.1m Anchorage Depth: 76ft - OVER/23.2m - OVER Cargo Pier Depth: 76ft - OVER/23.2m - OVER Oil Terminal Depth: 31ft - 35ft/9.4m - 10m Tidal Range: 11 feet Maximum Vessel Size: Up to 500 feet in length Turning Area: Yes First Port of Entry: Yes From [here](http://www.anchorageworld.com/content/manaus). So it could anchor but it couldnā€™t use the port channel, which means no turning. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-inland-can-i-get-a-nimitz-class-aircraft-carrier/501236/28 "2009-06-29T01:50:44Z")
> [@](#): > > hm mrAru claims they took the USS America[Regan class] and the Nimitz both to Great Lakes near Chicago ā€¦ anybody able to confirm that? > > I wouldnt think that the St Lawrence or the canal would allow passage ā€¦ No prob. The Marine Corps has this humongous boat trailer that it let the Navy borrow for the weekend. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-inland-can-i-get-a-nimitz-class-aircraft-carrier/501236/29 "2009-06-29T02:22:43Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > hm mrAru claims they took the USS America[Regan class] and the Nimitz both to Great Lakes near Chicago ā€¦ anybody able to confirm that? > > I wouldnt think that the St Lawrence or the canal would allow passage ā€¦ Nope, the only two aircraft carriers that ever got near Chicago were the _Wolverine_ and the _Sable_, a couple of paddle wheel [del]car carriers[/del] passenger vessels converted for training flights. The _Nimitz_ and the _America_ would have been stopped, as noted in earlier posts, by short locks and shallow rivers hundreds of miles away in the St. Lawrence or the Mississippi. ETA: Correction, the _Seeandbee_ and the _Greater Buffalo_, (the shipsā€™ original names), could carry cars, but their primary purpose was trans-lake passenger service. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-inland-can-i-get-a-nimitz-class-aircraft-carrier/501236/30 "2009-06-29T02:25:44Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > hm mrAru claims they took the USS America[Regan class] and the Nimitz both to Great Lakes near Chicago ā€¦ anybody able to confirm that? > > I wouldnt think that the St Lawrence or the canal would allow passage ā€¦ I can recall touring a destroyer at Clayton NY shortly after the Seaway was completed, on its way up to Great Lakes Naval base. Iā€™m not sure how much larger vessels could negotiate the Seaway (meaning the full thing, including the Welland Canal). ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-inland-can-i-get-a-nimitz-class-aircraft-carrier/501236/31 "2009-06-29T02:59:54Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > This is just an (informed) guess but the Mississippi river can handle giant ships including supertankers from the Gulf of Mexico to New Orleans easily. The river has been dredged all the way to Baton Rouge to handle large ships and an aircraft aircraft carrier may be able to make it that far as well. In total, that would be over 100 miles inland. I was on the USS Lexington on a port visit to New Orleans in 88 or 89. The Lex is a lot smaller than a Nimitz-class carrier and even we couldnā€™t get under one of the bridges in NO. We ended up parking at the riverside mall. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-inland-can-i-get-a-nimitz-class-aircraft-carrier/501236/32 "2009-06-29T03:25:42Z")
> [@alterego](#): > > Certainly there would be some method of reducing the draft. You could let some air out of the tires. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-inland-can-i-get-a-nimitz-class-aircraft-carrier/501236/33 "2009-06-29T05:59:47Z")
What about up the Thames to London? ---
**Author:** ![Temple-Slam-Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecccb3/32.png) [@Temple-Slam-Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Temple-Slam-Cat)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-inland-can-i-get-a-nimitz-class-aircraft-carrier/501236/34 "2009-06-29T06:43:20Z")
i would think that with all the small ships on the Thames and The Thames Flood Barrier that it wouldnt be possible even if the river was deep enough. ---
**Author:** ![Dahu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dahu/32/3416_2.png) [@Dahu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dahu)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-inland-can-i-get-a-nimitz-class-aircraft-carrier/501236/35 "2009-06-29T07:49:46Z")
> [@Temple-Slam-Cat](#): > > i would think that with all the small ships on the Thames and The Thames Flood Barrier that it wouldnt be possible even if the river was deep enough. Well, the flood barrier has [navigable spans of 200 feet](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thames_Barrier), so this part of it shouldnā€™t be a problem. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-inland-can-i-get-a-nimitz-class-aircraft-carrier/501236/36 "2009-06-29T08:29:56Z")
Ocean Liners come in often enough, the QM did so recently. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-inland-can-i-get-a-nimitz-class-aircraft-carrier/501236/37 "2009-06-29T08:44:38Z")
At 60m air draft, and given that you canā€™t get through Tower Bridge (even when open) with a vessel of over about 48m air draft, itā€™s not going further upstream than that. And thatā€™s only about 40m from the outer sea buoys. Thatā€™s before I even work out depths. But if Iā€™m reading [this](http://www.pla.co.uk/pdfs/hydro/platidebook2009.pdf)right, at average high water springs you would have a depth over the sill at the Flood Barrier at Woolwich of 11.7m which is 0.2m too little. Maybe if you lighten the vessel something severe. And I havenā€™t worked out controlling depths further downstream, which may be even less. ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-inland-can-i-get-a-nimitz-class-aircraft-carrier/501236/38 "2009-06-29T14:23:06Z")
Why would you want to put a _Nimitz_ carrier inland on a river? With tanker support, the carrierā€™s aircraft could depart from the Gulf of Mexico, buzz Chicago, and land off San Diego. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-inland-can-i-get-a-nimitz-class-aircraft-carrier/501236/39 "2009-06-29T14:29:28Z")
ā€œWeā€™re a lighthouse. Your call.ā€ ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-inland-can-i-get-a-nimitz-class-aircraft-carrier/501236/40 "2009-06-29T14:41:13Z")
> [@Scuba\_Ben](#): > > Why would you want to put a _Nimitz_ carrier inland on a river? With tanker support, the carrierā€™s aircraft could depart from the Gulf of Mexico, buzz Chicago, and land off San Diego. Parties basically. An aircraft carrier is the ultimate party barge. There is tons of stuff on them to raise hell with. There is no way a chick isnā€™t going to put out after you take her on a drunken ride in an F-16 on full afterburner. I hear the water skiing is pretty good too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-inland-can-i-get-a-nimitz-class-aircraft-carrier/501236.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-inland-can-i-get-a-nimitz-class-aircraft-carrier/501236.md?page=3)